Wonderful
by Ari Moriarty
Summary: Tomorrow is Phoenix's birthday, and Trucy wants to get her beloved Daddy the most wonderful present. Unfortunately, she's completely broke, so she calls on Maya Fey to help her come up with the perfect plan. As it turns out, money still can't buy love.
1. One

**Author's Note: **I'm very sorry for reposting this. For various reasons, I decided to get rid of my other account, and to post all of my stories from this account from now on.

Very sorry for the inconvenience. Won't happen again. I hope you enjoy what you read!

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**Wonderful**

**Chapter One**

Trucy Wright was in a horrible pickle.

Today was her beloved Daddy's thirty-third birthday, and she'd spent all day trying to figure out what she could do to show him how much she appreciated what he'd done for her over the last seven years.

_A birthday, _she reminded herself, _is the perfect time to show someone just how much he means to you! It's a time for big, spectacular celebrations, appreciations, and all the very best tricks!_

Unfortunately for Trucy, she was fresh out of tricks at the moment. She was also, perhaps more importantly, fresh out of money, as the Wright Talent Agency still hadn't picked up a single client. In fact, things had gotten so bad lately that she and her Dad had even experimented with eating the packing peanuts that came at the very bottom of the boxes that their new flyers and publicity artwork had been shipped in from the printing agency.

If Trucy didn't think of something fast, she was terribly certain that this would be the most unforgettably miserable birthday that the once-popular and well-known Phoenix Wright had ever suffered through.

Trucy, however, wasn't a girl to throw up her hands and admit defeat. Instead, she called for help form the one person whom she knew wouldn't ever let her down. Subsequently, she was now sitting in the middle of the Talent Agency floor, across from a cross-legged and frowning Maya Fey.

"Wait, hang on just a second," mumbled Maya, shaking her head. "Nick's birthday? Are you kidding? I…I never even knew that he had a birthday. This is big news!"

"Um…" Trucy shrugged. "Miss Maya, doesn't everyone have a birthday?"

Maya had to think about that for a moment. "Well, sure, of course everyone has a birthday. It's just that…I guess Nick never mentions anything about it. I mean…that's pretty weird, isn't it? There are pretty much two types of people in the world; the ones who LOVE their birthdays, and the ones who get all embarrassed and grumpy when their birthdays come around. It'd be one thing if Nick was just ashamed of getting old, but I've never heard him talk about it even one time! Don't you think that's kind of odd?"

When she really thought about it, Trucy had to admit that it was a little strange. Then again, that was just kind of the way her Daddy was. He was…just not very forthcoming about that kind of thing. When he talked about himself, he didn't talk about the past, or really any kind of little personal details like birthdays, or anything else.

"He's a real 'man of mystery,' our Nick," sighed Maya, shaking her head fondly. "I guess that's part of his charm? Sort of?"

"Anyway," said Trucy, "His birthday is tomorrow, and I'm sure that he'll be super surprised to find out that we know all about it and that we're going to celebrate! I just…I'm not sure what to do about the money. I mean, I can't even afford to go to Eldoon's and get a big batch of noodles for a bunch of party guests."

"Hmm," mumbled Maya. "Yeah…yeah, that's tough."

"So," Trucy went on, "I came up with this one idea. I think that maybe, if I throw a really big show at the Wonder Bar, I could draw a huge crowd, make a ton of money, and then have enough to buy a really cool present AND throw a party for all Daddy's friends. If I wanted to do that kind of a thing, though, I'd have to advertise a brand new, super-amazing act that no one has ever seen before. It would have to be a really stupendously stupefying magical mystery!"

Maya was now nodding enthusiastically. "A stupendously magical mystery, huh? Hey, that sounds GREAT! I can't wait to see it! What kind of an act did you have in mind?"

For the first time, Trucy faltered. She cleared her throat, bit her lip, and thought, _Well, it never hurts just to ask…right?_

"I was kind of thinking," she told Maya, "that…well, maybe you and I could do an act together. That'd be pretty cool!"

"Ooh, definitely!" Maya was definitely starting to get fired up. "I've always wanted to try doing some real magic! Did Nick ever tell you? We defended the great magician Max Galactica once, and I've always big a really big fan of his stuff! It'd be a huge treat to go on stage and do some real magic myself!"

"Um…yeah!" Trucy tried to grin.

Maya must have noticed how uncomfortable she was, because she frowned suddenly. "Huh? What's up? Something wrong? Wait, you're not gonna ask me to let you cut me up or something like that, are you?"

Trucy quickly shook her head. "No, no, nothing like that! I just, um, thought that maybe you could yours your powers as a spirit medium to help with the act, that's all."

Maya looked puzzled, so Trucy hurried on with her explanation.

"How cool would it be," she asked, "if I could use my magician's arts to turn one person into a totally different person, and then back again? Nobody does that kind of thing for real in stage shows. I mean, sure, we make people disappear, and sometimes we magicians use special little tricks where one person goes through a door, and then they switch with a totally different person and the totally different person comes out. That's all easy stuff, though, and the audiences always know how to do the tricks. It's amateur stuff. It would bea totally different story if I could ACTUALLY make one person turn into a different person right in front of everyone's eyes, with no doors and no tricks for the audience to see. Don't you think?"

"Are…you asking me what I think you're asking?" Maya's eyes were wide. "You mean…you want me to go onstage and channel someone in front of everybody, just for a magic show?"

Trucy's heart sank. "Well…yeah, I guess when you put it like it doesn't sound like a very good idea, does it? Spirit Mediums probably aren't supposed to use their skills for something silly like that. I'm sorry…"

"What? No way!" Maya shook her head. "I think it's an awesome idea! I'm just mad that I didn't come up with it myself! Wait, wait, how about this? You introduce me as 'the amazing aging woman!' I'll channel Mia, and it'll look like I've grown up into my older sister right before the audience's eyes! Then I can miraculously get younger again, and I won't even have to leave the stage once! I bet nobody's seen anything like that before, right?"

"Right! Right, it'll be awesome!" Trucy smiled. Maya beamed. For a brief moment, the two women shared a brilliant moment of excited accord.

Then, slowly, Maya's face fell. "But…no, that won't work after all," she mumbled. "I mean…Mia's my older sister, but she…I mean, she doesn't exactly look older than me anymore. Actually, I…I think she's sort of younger, now. Because…because I'm older than she got to be. So…the aging thing's not gonna make sense."

_That's right, _realized Trucy unhappily. _Mia Fey didn't get to live very long, did she? I shouldn't have even asked about something like that. I wonder if Miss Maya hurts a little bit every time she channels her elder sister. It's not a fun thing she should be doing just to make money. Oh, and besides…_

"Even if we could do it," muttered Trucy, "we don't really have enough time. I mean, we'd have to advertise it and get people interested, but we can't really do that much advertising before tonight's show, and tomorrow's the birthday. There's just no way."

She sighed. Maya looked frustrated. The atmosphere in the room dampened as Trucy's big dreams of the perfect show faded away.

"Well, I got nothing," sighed Maya. "Sorry, Trucy. Um…you want me to start checking the couch cushions?"

"We don't have a couch," Trucy reminded her.

"Oh…y-yeah," mumbled Maya. "I guess you don't…"


	2. Two

**Author's Note: **Sorry it took so long! Here's the second little part to this short story.

Oh, but if you're looking for more stuff to read, I'd be so happy if you checked out my other Phoenix Wright story, **A Talent for Turnabout**. I think you'll have a good time reading it, and I'm having a great time writing it, so please do stop by and let me know if you like!

All right, enough shameless self-plugging out of me. Here we go. Rest of the story, coming right up.

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**Chapter Two**

For Trucy and Maya, time seemed to move really fast. They sat around on the sofa for the next few hours, desperately throwing ideas around and trying to come up with a decent plan for how to celebrate their beloved Phoenix Wright's birthday. Eventually, though, it became clear that they were out of luck and out of time. No good ideas presented themselves, and as the hours ticked by on the clock, they both started glancing nervously at the door, wondering when Phoenix would come home.

"Do you think he's gonna expect a big surprise?" Trucy frowned. "I mean, he knows its his birthday today. Do you think he'll be angry that I didn't do anything special?"

Maya shook her head. "Of course not! Nick's not like that at all. I bet he even forgot all about today being his birthday! If we had surprised him, he'd probably have just been totally confused, or maybe embarrassed…yeah. Yeah, that sounds more like him."

"Oh…well, maybe you're right." Trucy mused about that for a moment. "I guess that does sound just like Daddy. Although…honestly, it doesn't feel right, not having anything to give him. I guess I should have been more prepared…but I only found out about his birthday a few days ago, and I was super busy planning my new show, so…" She trailed off, and shrugged. "That's not really a good excuse, is it?"

"Actually, Trucy," said Maya, frowning thoughtfully, "I wanted to ask you something. Um…how do you know when Nick's birthday is, anyway? I mean, even I didn't know about it, so…it's not like it's common knowledge, and he's not the kind of guy to talk about it much. Oh, but maybe it's the kind of thing you only tell your family. You and he are family, so…"

For some reason, Maya looked a little sad. Trucy hurried to reassure her.

"Oh," she insisted, "no, it's not that! Actually, he didn't tell me, either! I, um, I sort of fond out by myself. I don't even think he knows that I know."

It took Maya a moment to sort that one out. "Wait, he doesn't? So…then, who told you?"

"Um…well, you know Mr. Edgeworth?" Trucy played idly with the edge of her favorite silk hat. "He came by a few days ago to ask Daddy something, but Daddy was out getting noodles, so I talked to him for a while. You know, so he wouldn't get bored waiting."

Maya grinned. "Mr. Edgeworth was here? Oh, man, I wish I'd gotten to see him! It's been sooooo long!" Then she paused, and blinked in surprise. "Wait, you're saying Mr. Edgeworth told you about Nick's birthday?"

"Uh huh," Trucy nodded.

"Well," muttered Maya, "I mean, I guess that does make sense. After all, they did go to school together, and birthdays are a pretty big deal when you're a kid, so they probably all celebrated each others' birthdays back then, right? Still, Mr. Edgeworth's not the kind of guy to give up information like that. Larry I could imagine doing that, sure, but not Mr. Edgeworth. Oooh, wait, I know. You put a spell on him, right?"

Maya was gazing at Trucy expectantly. Trucy gave her a sheepish little smile.

"Uh," she said, "I…just asked really nicely? Sort of. He's not a bad guy, or anything. I mean…he and Daddy are old friends."

Maya was clearly impressed. "Wow, Trucy," she said. "You really ARE magical!"

At that moment, just as Maya and Trucy were beaming at each other, the key turned in the lock of the front door, and both women turned to watch Phoenix Wright coming into the room. He was dressed in his usual street clothes, complete with oversized sweatshirt and cute little hat. He looked exhausted, and when he looked up and smiled at his Trucy and Maya, there were weary lines etched on his forehead and under his eyes.

"Ah, look who's here," he muttered, smiling. "It's my two favorite girls in the world. I guess I'm a lucky guy, today."

"Daddy!" Trucy bounced up, and gave her father a quick hug.

"Nick, you're back! Um…welcome back!" Maya grinned at him. "Oh, you look tired. Um. Busy day?"

"You could say that." Phoenix slumped down on the sofa, and spent a moment massaging his temples. "You know what they say; there's no rest for the wicked."

Trucy shook her head. "But you're not wicked."

"Oh, no? Wicked clever, maybe?" Phoenix laughed. "Anyway, the jury's still out on that one. I'm leaving in an hour to go back to the Borscht Bowl club for a few more games of poker, and could name a few people who've lost at that poker table, all of whom would probably swear under oath that I've got some kind of demonic power." He shrugged. "Although, if we're being honest, I guess it's Trucy who's the really wicked one." He gave her a little nudge in the ribs, and she squeaked and leaned away from him.

"Aw, you're leaving so soon?" Maya looked disappointed. "But…but we've been waiting here for you all day!"

"Sorry about that." Phoenix frowned. "You know I'd like to stick around and spend some time with you, Maya, but I've got work. Nothing I can do about that."

For a moment, his smile faded, and the tired look around his eyes got the better of him. Trucy found herself thinking that he looked sort of old, and she didn't like that at all. After all, Daddy wasn't old. He was actually really young. It was just that he never seemed to be particularly happy about anything, even when he was laughing. He didn't seem like he worked very hard, but somehow he was always busy, or out somewhere, or doing something he couldn't tell her about. He always, always looked tired, and that worried her, because in the back of her mind there was always that little terror that if she didn't protect him from all that tiredness, one day she'd wake up and find herself all alone again.

"Well…sure, okay!" Maya nodded. "Yeah, we'll come with you to the club, then! I've only ever been, once, and I didn't even get to play cards! Who knows? Maybe I'll be a really good poker player. I bet you I can break that winning streak!"

"Uh, I doubt it." Phoenix shook his head." Maya, don't take this the wrong way, but you're one of the most transparent people I've ever met. You don't have a poker face at all."

"Well, hey, you don't know that!" Maya planted both hands on her hips and glared defiantly at him. "How can you know I don't have a poker face if you've never seen me play poker? You gotta back up your claims with evidence, so let's go, uh…be evident!"

She jumped to her feet, and Trucy hurried to follow suit.

"Yeah," she said. "It's been a while since I've been to the club. It'll be fun! I haven't seen you plan in a long time, Daddy!"

Phoenix looked genuinely surprised. "Wait, you're really both coming? Are you sure? It's…not a very exciting place."

"We are definitely really coming," insisted Maya firmly. "After all, we've been waiting all day just to see you, and we're not gonna give up just because of some silly thing you call work. You're not getting rid of me that easily!"

"Oh, well, I guess I've got no choice, then." Phoenix laughed, and Trucy was pleased to see that he looked a little happier. "Who am I to argue? I'll go heat up some noodles, and we can eat them on the way. Just wait here for a minute."

He stood up and moved off into the little office kitchen, leaving Maya and Trucy alone.

"I'm sorry that the party didn't work out,' sighed Maya. "I know you had your heart set on it, Trucy, but…there just wasn't enough time. Maybe we can do it next year!"

"Yeah," Trucy agreed. "It would have been fun, but it looks like it wouldn't have been possible anyway. I forgot all about Dad's having to work tonight! It would have been embarrassing if we'd invited everyone, and then he'd just had to leave."

Maya smacked one fist into the palm of the other hand, determination in her eyes. "Well, party or no party, we're just gonna have to be the best birthday buddies ever! We'll make sure he has so much fun at work tonight that he forgets all about how much he hates that Borscht Bowl place!"

Trucy was just opening her mouth to agree when Phoenix stepped back into the room.

"Sounds great," he said, smiling. "I'm looking forward to it. Thanks, Maya."

Maya was startled. "Oh, um, you heard us?"

"The offices aren't any bigger now than they were when you left," retorted Phoenix, clearly amused. "Sound travels."

"Oh…uh, right!" Maya and Trucy exchanged a quick look.

"It's just…" Trucy sighed. "Daddy, we really wanted to do something wonderful for your birthday, but…I forgot and got distracted, and then Maya and I didn't have enough time to plan, and…um…I'm sorry." She slumped her shoulders dejectedly, and Maya put a comforting arm around her.

"What are you talking about?" Phoenix sat down in between them on the sofa, and gently tilted Trucy's chin up with one hand. "Don't you remember what I said before? My two favorite girls are taking the time to celebrate my birthday with me. What could be more wonderful than that? It's just like I said; I'm a lucky guy."

Trucy hazarded a smile, and Phoenix gave her a little peck on the top of her head. Maya beamed.

"D'aww, Nick," she said, "You can be a real sweetheart when you want to be, huh?"

**Fin.**

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**Author's End Note: **Okay, so maybe this wasn't really a story. It didn't exactly have a plot or an arc. I think this was really more of a character study, but I do love the relationships between Phoenix and Trucy, and Phoenix and Maya, and this was fun to write! Thank you for reading!


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